Thine Is the Kingdom

Jim Frantti | The Voice of Zion January 2019 --

The Lord’s Prayer is familiar and often recited by believers. Both Matthew and Luke recorded how Jesus taught this prayer. According to Matthew, Jesus concluded the prayer with the words, “For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen” (Matt. 6:13). It is not only a fitting ending to the prayer, but also a very comforting one. We acknowledge that the kingdom in which God’s children dwell is God’s, that God is almighty and that all glory belongs to Him. Kingdoms built by men will crumble and fall, but God’s kingdom will never fall.

God has given to His own a secure dwelling place. “Fear not, little flock,” Jesus says, “for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom” (Luke 12:32). The psalmist also experienced the security of God’s kingdom, and wrote, “One thing have I desired of the Lord, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to enquire in his temple. For in the time of trouble he shall hide me in his pavilion: in the secret of his tabernacle shall he hide me; he shall set me up upon a rock” (Ps. 27:4,5).

God’s kingdom has a sure foundation. It is built upon God’s holy Word. The foundation was laid by the prophets and apostles, and the chief cornerstone is Lord Jesus Christ himself (Eph. 2:20). “For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ” (1 Cor. 3:11). This foundation is not only secure, but it is unchanging. “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, and today, and forever” (Heb. 13:8). Just as Jesus Christ is unchanging, the Word of God is likewise eternal and unchanging (Luke 21:33).

Jesus teaches that when a house is built on a sure foundation, it will not fall, even during stormy times (Matt. 7:24–27). God’s Holy Spirit guides the work of building, although it is done by weak and faulty workers. Because we know that the enemy of souls is always opposing the work of God’s kingdom, prayers of the faithful rise continually to the Heavenly Father. We pray that He would bless and guide the work and that the efforts of the enemy would come to naught.

In the Bible, the time of Nehemiah was a time of building. “So built we the wall; and all the wall was joined together unto the half thereof: for the people had a mind to work” (Neh. 4:6). When we think of the builders, many of whom were probably not skilled professionals, working on each half of the wall, we could wonder how the two sections would meet. It could easily happen that the widths of the two halves, or their alignment, would be different. What would happen then when the two halves met? Would they meet together properly? In the end, the walls did meet together. How can we explain that? It seems that the explanation is that they built on the old foundation.

Yet today, in the work of God’s kingdom, we build upon the old foundation. It has not changed. Gifts are many and varied, but the Spirit is one. When we build on this foundation, it brings unity in our work.

We take comfort today that the kingdom of God yet rests upon the tried and sure cornerstone, the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus promises His own, “I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world” (Matt. 28:20). It is comforting to remember that the kingdom is God’s, and His also are the power and the glory. God will not allow His kingdom to crumble and fall. The believer’s prayer is to remain in this secure shelter. There also the fountain of grace is found from which flows the forgiving gospel, which is the power of God unto salvation (Rom. 1:16). One day the weak traveler can lay down the staff of faith and be taken from this kingdom of grace to the kingdom of glory in heaven. “For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen” (Matt. 6:13).

May your New Year be one of health, happiness and great blessing!